Devoured By The Desert: Creepy Kolmanskop Ghost Town (21 PICS)

In Namibia, Africa, not too far from the port city of Lüderitz, the ghost town Kolmanskop is slowly sinking, being buried by sand to be trapped in time. Photo #1 by Michiel Van Balen

In 1908, a railroad worker found a glittering diamond sitting on top of sand. The Germans came to get rich quick which is why the Kolmanskop (Kolmannskuppe) village has such a German-influenced architectural style. As you can see, the houses in Kolmanskop are derelict and appear to be sinking in the hot desert sand. Photo #2 by Damien du Toit

City limit sign of Kolmannskuppe, Namibia. At its peak, the population of Kolmanskop included over 700 families lived in the mining town, including about 300 German adults, 40 children and 800 Owambo contract workers. Photo #3 by Anagoria

Within 40 years of being born, booming and prospering, the town died. Kolmanskop ghost town is gradually being devoured by the desert. The TV show Destination Truth visited this ghost town since it is highly rumored to be haunted. They were not disappointed, having captured EVPs of ghosts whispering in their ears after locking themselves in the abandoned meat locker of the butcher shop. In other buildings, they saw shadows, heard footsteps, and had the fluff scared of out them in Kolmanskop. Photo #4 by Michiel Van Balen

This is Kolmanskop in Lüderitz, Namibia, built at first to provide shelter for diamond workers from the extremely harsh environment of the hot desert. Once upon a time, Kolmanskop had the first x-ray station in southern Africa and the first tram. Besides the many houses and stores, Kolmanskop also boasted of an elegant ballroom, theater, casino, hospital, gymnasium, power station, school, skittle-alley, ice factory, and railway station. Photo #5 by mallix

Kolmanskop is in crumbling ruins, going from grandeur to ghost houses waiting to be buried by the Namib desert. The inside of this place still looks pretty nice, so long as you don’t see the souls not at rest who dwell here and visit with the tourists. Photo #6 by gaftels

The Germans declared Kolmanskop as a forbidden territory (Sperrgebiet), but now it sits abandoned, forlorn and seemingly forgotten. The interior of a few of the old buildings that are still standing are in decent condition, like the theater and the former house of the mine manager, but the rest are being demolished by the desert. Photo #8 by Calips

When the people left, and no one was there to clear away the sand, it moved in for the kill at Kolmanskop. Every day, buildings and objects are exposed and then are reburied by the hot blowing desert wind. Photo #10 by Calips

Although tourists visit Kolmanskop ghost town during the day, a resident in the nearby port town of Lüderitz warned the star of Destination Truth, Josh Gates, that no one should visit Kolmanskop after dark when the ghosts stir through the sand-filled buildings and the town being slowly devoured by the desert. Photo #11 by galdo trouchky

In 2000, the movie The King Is Alive was filmed in Kolmannskuppe. It was also used as a setting in the 1993 movie Dust Devil. In 2010, the sinking sand city of Kolmanskop was featured in an episode of Life After People: The Series. Photo #13 by Harald Süpfle

Caught between appearing eerie and cool, the sand dunes are moving into this house and slowly burying it in Kolmanskop ghost town. Photo #15 by Damien du Toit

Before WWI, over a 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of diamonds were discovered at Kolmanskop. The wind-swept town had the best of everything, the Germans made sure. Sadly, it is now in ruins and highly rumored as haunted. Photo #16 by Harald Süpfle

Kolmanskop ghost town is plagued with high hot winds and sandstorms that just invite themselves into the remaining ruins like a demolishing crew. Photo #17 by Damien du Toit

Like a kid’s paradise, the houses have built-in sandboxes now. Perhaps a ghost would like to help you build a sandcastle? Photo #18 by galdo trouchky

Bizarre shot capturing the equally bizarre ghost town of Kolmanskop in the Namib Desert. There are beings in other dimensions haunting this place. Photo #19 by gaftels

Life for the desert diamond diggers in the dry and remote town of Kolmanskop was supposedly grand, including people who delivered ice and drinking water to every house, every day. Underneath each residence, food was stored in a “cooler cabinet.” Yet with movies such as Blood Diamond and other historic accounts of diamond diggers, life was not happy or grand. If Kolmanskop was such a wonderful place to live and to work, why are there so many tortured souls hanging around to haunt it? Photo #20 by Raymond June

Although you can buy diamonds at the tourist shop that sells tickets for visiting Kolmanskop ghost town, do NOT wander across the fence into Diamond Area number 1 or else you are liable for prosecution. You don’t want to join the ranks of ghosts dwelling in the diamond-in-the-rough ghost town of Kolmanskop as the desert sands devour it, trapping it in time. Photo #21 by gaftels

18 thoughts on “Devoured By The Desert: Creepy Kolmanskop Ghost Town (21 PICS)”

Puts Detroit City ruins in mind. mining has always had its ghost towns, nature of the business, now industry showing the same weaknesses? As America fails, it dollar devastated by government spending, its finances invaded by China, its economy failing, are we witnessing the latter days of the last, the greatest, Caucasian empire the world will ever know?

Funny you should mention China as the country that has helped to devestate Americas finances, I often wondered just how much or the dollar amount of US Bonds China has consumed and I found out a very surprising fact, that Japan has purchased a lot more than China. Now for the economy of this Ghost Town, does anyone know what kind of mining was done there?